Best ways to keep your project team motivated
Particularly during extremely busy times, it can be tough to keep your project team motivated, enthusiastic and passionate about both their roles and the project in hand. However, a motivated team is a productive and happy team and, as such, maintaining motivation is crucial to individual wellbeing, job satisfaction, and – of course – overall project health. So, here are the best ways to keep your project team motivated.
Ways to keep your project team motivated
Set realistic and clear goals: it’s much easier to stay motivated during the lifecycle of an intense project when you know and understand exactly what the goals & objectives are, right? Especially when those goals & objects are genuinely achievable. Setting realistic and clear goals and expectations of each team member that are well-communicated with your project team will help everyone keep motivated and on-track.
Communication is key: communicating goals, objectives, tasks and expectations, as well as facilitating regular catch ups where your team is encouraged to share any successes, concerns, risks or challenges will foster a healthy and productive team that feels supported and valued.
Recognise achievements: thank, congratulate and recognise the achievements and good work of your team – a team that feels valued and seen, and appreciated for their hard work and commitment to their role will certainly be a happy, motivated and dedicated team.
Don’t overload your team: particularly when project deadlines are approaching, things can feel incredibly busy, and – in order to reach said deadlines – setting your team members additional tasks on top of their existing workload can feel like the most effective plan of action. However, always try not to overload or overwhelm your team at any point during the project lifecycle and try to check in periodically with each team member to make sure that they’re coping with their existing workload. How can you tackle this? Detailed resource planning and risk management at the very beginning of your project.
Offer professional development opportunities: it is often the role of a PMO to train and develop project teams. Creating and offering professional development opportunities, such as short courses, training sessions, coaching & mentoring opportunities or assigning specialist projects & tasks to specific individuals will not only benefit the team and the projects, but also the individual – helping team members learn new skills, gain knowledge & experience, and grow in confidence.
To find out more about Sycamore Gap’s PMO, please contact us.
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